Some goings on...

Well, I already failed at my plan to blog every week this year! This is the reason I never make New Year's resolutions - making a vow just makes me want to break it! I will continue trying though since I do love sharing pictures and little stories from our lives here in Liberia.

The biggest news is that we are planning a visit back to the US! We haven't really been here long enough to warrant a trip back, but being that Izzy is almost done with high school, we decided it would be a good idea to have him play his senior season in Colorado and hopefully help him find a college. This means that we will be heading back mid-July and will plan to stay until just after Thanksgiving. The kids are pretty excited and are already making plans for all the things they will do with their friends! We are hoping to do some traveling and speaking while we are there as well, so if you have any interest in having us speak at your church (by us I mean KENNETH), please let us know now so we can put it on the schedule. We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible!

Recently we got invited to celebrate the birthday of my good friend, Kehwon. She, along with her husband, is a professor here at ABCU. We enjoyed the delicious food she provided for her party as well as the dancing and singing! Along with her wishes and prayers for her next year, she shared the things in her life she would like to improve on and areas she would like to see growth. I am continually impressed with her maturity and wisdom as she seeks God for her marriage, family and classroom. ABCU is so blessed to have teachers like her who care so deeply for their students and love the Lord so faithfully! Happy birthday, Kehwon!

We continue to find new animals and have adventures with them, some a little TOO exciting! In the past two weeks my kids have killed three snakes, including two kinds of cobras and a green mamba (I'm sparing you the grisly pictures). Acuka had the unfortunate experience of having the mamba slither right over his foot! When Izzy and his friend started moving rocks to find and kill it, it shot out right at Jireh's foot! I yanked him backwards, and the snake changed direction at the last second. Thankfully both kids were ok and a lot less shaken up than me! I have never in my life been afraid of snakes, but there is something terrifying when it comes to them being near my children. We are always so grateful for the prayers that are lifted on our behalf. God has definitely been watching over us!

Another way God has taken care of us this month is by providing us a source of beef! Liberia does not have many cows due to the dense tropical undergrowth, meaning that we have been living on only chicken since we arrived. Thankfully we all love it! We finally made a friend who is from Guinea, and she travels back and forth across the border frequently to buy and sell beef. She offered to bring us some, and it did not disappoint! For less than $3/pound we are now enjoying steak or cubed steak frequently! We are so grateful for His provision and tender care of us.

As always, we are so thankful for your generous support and prayers for our family. If you'd like to see more pictures and hear more stories of what the Lord is doing in Liberia, be sure to sign up for our newsletter! XOXO!